Costly Housing Crunch

May 16, 1988

The U.S. will need to build or renovate 36 million housing units over the next 15 years to address the problems faced by Americans living in substandard and overcrowded conditions, said a study by the Urban Institute.

The cost of such work is estimated to be a staggering $41 billion, not to mention housing subsidies that could cost another $57 billion.

More than 6 percent of housing units in urban areas and 17 percent of units in rural areas don`t meet minimum standards set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the institute said.

The study was financed by the National Association of Realtors. The report said 7.7 million households are living in substandard units and another 3.2 million are in overcrowded conditions.

``We are reminded daily of the homeless on our streets and shelters. Less visible, but no better off, are those who live in inadequate housing or who pay the majority of their incomes just to stay off these streets,`` Nestor Weigand, president of the Realtors association, said in presenting the data.